Dump the Pump Day: Take Transit on June 16

Thursday, June 16, is the sixth annual Dump the Pump Day. If you’re part of the lucky half of the country that has access to transit, make plans to leave your car at home and take the train, bus, streetcar, vanpool, light rail, ferry, subway, or whatever it is that will get you where you need to go.

Many transit operators across the country – from Pennsylvania’s County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS) to south Florida’s Tri-Rail and California’s Gold Coast Transit -- are offering free rides on Dump the Pump Day. Check with your local transit operator to see if they’ve got any freebies.

Even without a free ticket, taking transit saves you money (use this fuel calculator to find out exactly how much).  According to the American Public Transportation Association, the average two-person household can save more than $10,000 a year by downsizing to one car. Using transit also shrinks your carbon footprint (10 percent for a single commuter), reduces congestion and helps break our country’s addiction to oil. In 2009 alone, transit riders saved America 640 million gallons of gas.

So join the party! Let’s stick it to Big Oil and dump the pump on Thursday, June 16.